If I Can Travel Back In Time

by Roda Mae J. Genolos

Suppose time travel is possible and I can change it in any way I can. In that case, I want to go back when
President Ferdinand Marcos was in office as the 10th President of the Republic of the Philippines. He
may be named as the dictator of the Philippines and imposed martial law in my country, but before all
that, the Philippines was a rising star in the economic arena compared to other Southeast Asian nations.
I would want to know if it’s true that it was because of his failing health and when his wife took over
that his leadership fell in turmoil. If that was the case, I want to do something so he could still lead our
country to economic abundance and be a champion in international trading and diplomacy with other
countries.

In his time, based on my father’s accounts, the Philippines was a far better country economically and
politically than now. Sure, there were Marcos’ cronies, the name coined for the group of elites whom
Marcos has bestowed upon millions of wealth, but he did not forget his vow to the Filipino people: to
lead them to prosperity and peaceful life. Marcos was starting to build the first-ever nuclear power plant
in Asia to free us from the chains of the oil industry back when he was the sitting president. He built
much-needed healthcare facilities, such as the Philippine General Hospital and the Lung Center of the
Philippines. He spearheaded the network of infrastructures to link the major islands of the Philippines,
Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, that brought down the cost transportation and encouraged commerce
throughout the archipelago.

These are just some of the achievements of the Marcos administration. And though his 20 years of
leading the country brought too many sorrows and woes to the Filipinos, he has done more than any
other presidents that succeeded him. If there was truth in how his First Lady influenced his governance,
then the Filipinos have lost a colossal chance in obtaining an abundant and wonderful life.